Regulars return every year to the peaceful Lindauer Hof on Lindau, an island connected by causeway to the Bavarian shore of the Bodensee. 'A new hotel in ancient walls' is how the Wimpissinger family describe it. The walls were raised in medieval times and were recently restored and repainted, winning local acclaim; and the interior decoration is contemporary and striking. Here, summer is high season and you should book well ahead. Several bedrooms have a lake view, and you can gaze across to the distant shores of the Bodensee from the private sitting room of the luxuriously decorated 'santis'. We love all four Junior Suites built under the sloping eaves, each with a bedroom on the upper level, a living room on the lower, and a private terrace overlooking the harbour. You can lunch or dine on delicately flavoured lake fish among other local specialities served on the first-floor restaurant terrace with a view of the lake. The ancient town of Lindau is perhaps too quiet for young families, and the Lindauer Hof has a clientele of families with teenage children, who love the water sports, and Third Agers who flock here from late August to enjoy the personal welcome, the calm atmosphere and the Alpine scenery.